Fiber handling mechanism



` March 27,1945; CgA, sMljTH v2,372,343

FIBER HANDLING MECHANISM A Eile@ May 8, 19215. 2 sheetssheet 1 AWOBNEY March 27,v 1945-. c. A. SMITH FIBER HANDLING MECHANISM Filed May 3,1943

2 `Sheets-Sheet 2 cHEsLl-:Y A.sM|TH..

INVENTOR r Patented Mar.l 27, 1945 UNITED 1 STATES ,PATENT OFFICE Chesley FrBER HANDLTNG MEoHANIsM A. Smith, Seattle, Wash., assigner to Eddie Bauer, Seattle, Wash. i

Appiication MayV 8,' 1943, Serial No. 486,257 l 4 Claims.y (Cl. 222-70) In the production of down-filled clothing, quilts, sleeping bags, robes and the like, great difficulty has been experienced in the conveyance'of discrete padding from containers intothe pockets or pounches of the articles to be padded.- These dimculties relate to theV maintenance as wellvas provision of a fiber-bearing air` stream having a uniformcharacteristic at all times. flculties relate to theftiming ofthe flow of a ber and air stream in accordance with variable requirements of quantities of padding to be placed in various-sized pockets or tubes.

A specific problem arises in the manufacture of sleepingbags that are padded with discretev velope, these tubes and tunnels will be 'of different.

sizes and shapes, and therefore havev varying capacities for the padding to be placed therein. it is naturally desirable that the amountof padding in any one tube be uniform in cross-section with that of any of the otherxtubes.` It is practically impossible to linsert the padding in this required uniform manner by hand, sincethe operators usually do not have the judgment vnecessary to accurately determine when sulicient padding has been inserted into the tubes. Various schemes and arrangements have been made and employed in prefilling various sized measuring containers with fibrous material, then conveying the materialfrom the different containers to the diiferent tubes in accordance with the pattern of the sleeping bag being padded. Other schemes have related to the use of a constantly flowing air stream which carries the padding in whatever manner it may be introduced thereto and leaves it up to the operator to judge when he has permitted the stream to blow enough in a particular tube to place therein the desired quantity of padding. y f

Neither of the foregoing arrangements, nor any others known to this applicant, has been successful in meeting the high standards and re- 'quirements customary in this work.

Having in mind thedefects ofthe prior art, it' is a prime object of this invention to provide Further dif-v ber handling'mechanism suitable for filling articles to be padded, which' equipment will largelyv eliminate guesswork and the human element.

It is another object of this invention to provide means for placing the` fiber in air-borne suspension in such a manner that it may be pneiunatically conveyed in a uniform stream that can be mechanically controlled.

A further objectv of the invention is the provision of novel and yuseful mechanical "control means for a. pneumatic stream of ber' particles in suspension whereby only predetermined amounts of liber will be conveyed and discharged.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a novel and usefulmechanical timer mechanism to regulate'the iiow of a pneumatic stream of air carrying a quantity of ber.

.The foregoing objects and others ancillary thereto I prefer to accomplish as follows:

According to a preferred embodiment of my invention, I convey fiber from asuitable hopper ,to a manually employed dispensing nozzle by suitable controlled pneumatic means. Specifically, the hopper is provided'with mechanical and pneumatic agitation means which operate to place the fiber in a. uniforml air-borne suspension, all more or less within a we1l-defned zone in the hopper. This air-suspended fiber Within the hopper is drawn into suitabler conduitmeans for conveyance to a dispensing nozzle and is moved in this conduit by conventional blowingy equipment. Thus is insured a stream, having uniform characteristics, of air-borne fiber at the nozzle tip. The draft of air-borne ber through the conduit system is' directly controlled by a timer disc having a predetermined pattern, which produces intermittent interruption of the flow` of fiber to the conduit system in a controlled sequence of air blasts to provide periods of operation according to the desired requirements that have to be met. The timing mechanism is operable at the instance of the operator under the control of switch mechanism adjacent the manually employed nozzle. Y

The novel features that I consider characteristie oi' my invention are set forthwith particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of organization, together With additional yobjects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read'in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which l Figure 1 is a perspective View of myber vhan'- dling mechanism Y V V Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the mechanism of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the ber agitating equipment employed within the hopper of the;k foregoing figures;

Figure 6. isa side elevational view ot theI pattern holder and its operating mechanism, with portions shown in section for convenience of ili-v lustration;

Figure 7 is a plan view` from the under side of the pattern holder; and f Figures 8 and 9 are diagrammatic showings off the electrical control system governing the oW of an air-borne stream of fiber according to my invention.

Fiber handling equipment,v to overcome the defectsher'einbeforeenumeratedmust have at least two totallyy distinct, characteristics; it must be capablev of providing, an air conveyor stream havingA uniform, quantities of discrete fibers suspended therein; and yit must also` provide control means/for` either regularly or variably interrupting the flow of said` stream in accordance with predetermined requirements in theplacing of the discrete material in padding position in articles` beingpadded.. For convenience of description I treat herein.v the mechanismetA this invention rst as. to the ber agfitationand conveyance means endg. secondly.; as. toI the` control mechanism and circuits` employed. in regulating the` flow. ofA the ber conveying airstream. AIt mustbe borne in, mind, however. that ,these functionsv are intordependent and-that, this,I separation, isv only. for simplicatorn c y Y Eibet agitation A preferred embodiment of my ilber agit'ating mechanism is shown vin detail in Figures l throng-lr 5; in, which the numeral 'Ill designates a hopperrformed' of a plurality of? Walls and top andbcttom panels." Intjhe upper portion of the hopper a door I 2'closes. afiber. introduction Aopening' |14. lThe discretebrs employedn padding articles is usually supplied in large bags, which may easily be emptiedinto the hopper interior.

For the purposes oi'this descriptionl. shallrefer hereafter to theber as doWn, since that` is. a common and useful material. employed in pad.-` din'g, garments and sleeping bags. lDown is .a soft, fluffy undergroyvth` derived from. the feather formation of birdsV such as duck and goose. t It. is` light' in Weight as to the;individualparticles, but in mass tends'to intertwine and bunch and pack., My agitation equipmenty serves. tolift. andv buoy this d'ovvn in an air-borne suspensioninthc hopperlf ,Y

Atopposedpoints inthe-.lower portion of thef hopper IV introduce air p by means.. of` the nozzles I6, I6 that receive such airunder pressure. from. suitable blowers (not, Shawna..l Itis` preferable f thatthe nozzles nare toward the discharge s1it`f2ll so that. a relatively thin stream. of` air is .intro-f.

duced acrossthefbottom of thehopper.l Byr op:-

posing these incoming. streams of. air abuing acv tion, i,s produced at, the point.. Where.. they tvvoY streams collide anni converge. andl deflect up Wardly.

Within, the hopperr mechanical agitationy means is also emplovedandcomprises thebeaters 22; 22 Which are swingably suspended from-aabove; by the;

depending arms 24 hinged at 26 to the under side of the hopper cover. A reciprocable draw bar 28, ioined by cross heads 30, 3D to the arms 22, serves to swing the beaters in a reciprocal path within the chamber in the hopper. Draw bar 28 is reciprocated by the mechanism exterior of the hopper, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, and includes the bell crank 32 that is rocked by the connecting rod 34 through its eccentricy connectionwith the rotary crank discl 36. Power to rotate disc 36 is supplied thereto from motor 38 through a series of' speed reducing sheaves 40, 4|, 42 and belts 43 andl 44. The draw bar is passed into the hopper through opening 46 which is'sealed by the iiexible boot' 4&-4

Hopper; vIl! has a supplemental air exhaust conduit 50. shielded by screen 5I. A collector bag is shown at 54 to receive the exhaust air from the hopper and to entrap such vagrant down particles as may have passed through the shielding screen 5l. i' s f vOperation of .the agitating` equipment When a= quantityof 'down is placed in the hopper its natural t'endencyistosettl'e to thelbottom. Air is forcedy underthe down fromY theA no-zzlesli'ts 20 tol-ittit andA assist its movement to the suspension area-in the .approximate median of' the hopper. Thel two incoming streamsl eachv picks up Iand conveys afportion of the down to` the point of collision of the` streams andi thereafter the down is raised due to theconvergence of' these streams upward tothe*v suspension area At the same time as the air is; flowing into the hopper, the swinging. beaters 22:l reciprocate throughl the uify mass of downandi continually forcel the discreteparticles into.. the rising air streams from the input. nozzles. The resultis that a cloud of down4 is= placed in air-borne suspension in thehopper.- This` cloud has a uniform content of air and. downl with the bunches or wads broken up and dispersed throughout.

The operation of theiair entering the hopper through the flared: nozzley isy tov buoy. andA float the down in the upper midi portion of the'hopper inl the form of alight, fluffy blanket. The two air 1 streams entering the hoppery collide and converge or deect upwardly in the hopper. At the same timev the' beaters: are operating back andi forth through the mass andtend to break` upthe wads and' bunches of downi in. the mass andtodistrib ute-itrevenly in` the'air. Theresult is that ai soft, fluffy stratum. off' relatively uniform density throughout is formed within. thehopper through whichstratum, insmallstreamson'ly.; the incoming air circulatesaandfbubbles. tol the upper side. Were it not for the-action of. the'beaters, fairly. largeY airv passages would form. in the discrete mass and downfwould'iseparate-onieither sideand'- notbe buoyed. Therdovvn would inh that case beI in` a more. or less:` solidi mass, not suitable robe withdrawn from the hopper by suction.

Air conveyor mechanism To move the; down.. from;theehopperl lo to the point of use l.` employa; conduitl tube 53 whichis; connected to. the suction.: side: of; a motor operated; blower 54 that dischargeszinto thel tube: 5t; having thedistribution nozzle or feed tube Etf.,V These. conduits aref preferably, iiexiblepas the nozzle is usuallyl manually introduced4 into; the` articlebeinglpadded from'various directions. Asuction tube 58 is joined With. tube 53by a Siamese-cou.-

pling 60,' which hasan-air, bypass army 6:2.4 Atthe Y' within thefcouplingll is an swingingl gateor;

valve plate that is actuated by arm 66 to'open or close one or theother of the ducts within the Siamese coupling. Arm 66 carries the movable core 68 that is variously inserted into the solenoid against the urgence of spring 'l2 in accordance withthe electrical energization of the solenoid.

It is preferable that the ian of blower 54 be constantly operating sovthat, depending upon the position of valve 64, there will also be available suction either from the bypass opening in arm 62 or from the pick-up opening in tube 58. It is to be noted that the pick-up tube is placed in the hopper at approximately the mid-portion thereof in the down suspension area or closely adjacent thereto.

Operation of the `air conveyor Air-borne down in the hopper is drawn into the conduit at such times as the tube 58 is in communication, due to the position of valve gate 64, with the suction effect of the blower fan 54. In that event, over a given time period, a uniform quantity of air and down will be drawn from the hopper and passed into the conveyor tubes and to the nozzle 56. By predetermining the suction periods measured quantities of down will be passed through the conveyor for use in padding garments.

, Control mechanism The operation of valve 64 to its various positions is governed by an electrical circuit that is in turn activated or deactivated by mechanical means. An upright rotatable spindle 'H mounted in a suitable bearing 12 carries for rotation the sheave 14 driven by belt 16 from the drive sheave 18 which is rotated thro-ugh speed reducer 80 from the constantly rotating motor 82.

Also supported upon shaft 'H is the pattern disc 84 which carries on its under side clutch spring arms 86 that rest upon the upper face of the sheave 14 to, on occasion, turn the pattern holder disc simultaneously with said sheave.

, sible.

control .of the switch H0 in the electrical supply circuit comprising leads lll and H2. I mount switch H0 on the tube 56 where it is convenient to theoperator who, when he desires a ow of down fromk vfeed tube 56, presses the switch operating button tovinitially energize coil 80 to permit free rotation of the pattern disc. When the disc 84 has lrotated the distance between ad.- jacent notches the down flow will cease until the switch sequence of the notches around the edge of the pattern disc in accordance with the requirements of the garment, being padded, as set by the pattern of the pockets and pouches therein, it is possible for an operator to place a desired quantity in each pocket uniformly throughout the garment.

Although I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, I am fully aware that many modifications thereof are pos- My invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. Mechanism for separately dispensing measured quantities of iiuent fibrous material, comprising: a housing to receive ber; means in the housing operable to place ber contained therein in air borne suspension; pneumatic means for withdrawing a stream of the suspended fiber from the housing; and means for controlling the operation of the pneumatic means, including: a valve disposable .across the stream of withdrawal air, electro-magnetic means for moving said valve, a

pattern holder having a predetermined pattern About its periphery the pattern holder is provided with a plurality of notches 88 which are spaced thereon according to a predetermined series of time periods to be delineated in the open positioning of valve 64.

Mounted adjacent disc 84 is a solenoid 90 in which is movable the core 82 that carries a pivoted detent S4 engageable in any of the notches 88 of the pattern disc. On opposed sides detent 94 has a pair of horns 95 and 96, the latter ofwhich is pressed to move the detent toward disc 84 by means of spring arm 98. Horn 95 carries the contact arm |08 to close with opposed contact arm IDI, thus forming a switch in the electrical supply lines |02, |83 to solenoid 1D. Whenever core 92 is drawn into the solenoid 90 by reason of its energization the pattern disc 84 is freed from the restraint of detent 94 and it will rotate through the action of ,clutch springs 86 with the constantly rotating sheave 14. At the same time a circuit is completed throu-gh the solenoid 10 to swing the arm 66 to open valve 64 in the Siamese coupling of the conduit system. Air-borne down is then-drawn into the conveyor system and conducted to the nozzle 56 for so long a period as is measured by the peripheral distance between the notch of disc 84 just disengaged and the next following notch into which the detent 94 will next seat to disrupt the sustaining circuit of solenoid l0, whereupon valve 64 opens to the bypass side and stops the ilow of air and down.

Solenoid is manually operated under the 75 ldrive sequentially impressed thereon, and a make and break switch in circuit with said electro-magnetic means and responsive to the pattern sequence set by said pattern-holder.

2. Mechanism for separately dispensing measured quantities of fluent iibrous material, comprising: a housing to receive fiber; means in the housing operable to place ber contained therein in air borne suspension; pneumatic means for withdrawing a stream of the suspended fiber from the housing; and means for controlling the operation of the pneumatic means, including: a valve disposable across the stream of withdrawal air, electro-magnetic means for moving said valve, a rotatable cam having a predetermined pattern on the edge thereof, means for rotating said cam, a cam follower movable in accordance with thepattern delineated by said cam, a switch in circuit with said electro-magnetic means and responsive to the movement of the cam follower to close and open the electro-magnetic circuit.

3. Mechanism for separately dispensing measured quantities of fluet brous material, comprising: pneumatic means for movingber, a valve for controlling the operation of said pneumatic means, electro-magnetic means for operating said valve, a constantly rotating drive wheel, a pattern disc having edge notches and coaxially mounted adjacent said drive disc, a detent engageable in the notches in the edge of the pattern disc, means operable from a remote point for withdrawing the detent from an engaged notch in the pattern disc, a switch in circuit with said electro-magnetic means responsive to movement of the detent to close and open the electromagnetic circuit, and clutch means between said disc and the pattern olisc operable when the detent is withdrawn from the notches .to rotate the pattern disc with the drive disc.

4. Mechanism for separately dispensing meas- IIU is next closed. By so arranging the withdrawing the datent -fromfanengaged Ino'tch ll 1n flth'e lpattern Imsc, a sw1tchf1in circuit -with :said y't'r'st mentioned ele'c'tro-imagnetic :means fand fres'po'nsive fto the movement of the detent'to close Vamdopen the circuit-ofsai-trstmentioned electromagnetic means, .and clutchlfmeansibetween Sid l'drive isc :and the pattern `:disc Joperable when fthe detentfis lwithdrawn I'from the notches .tortate lthepatt'rnf disc 'with `thev drive; disc.

' CHESLEY A. SMITH. 

